Can You Sue a Private School or Boarding School for Sexual Abuse in California? (Compass Law)

Your parents chose and trusted your private school to keep you safe, but you weren’t safe. Instead, you were sexually abused. Whether it was a private day school or boarding school, you are likely wondering whether you can sue a school that isn’t run by the government.

The answer is yes.

California doesn’t shield a school from a sexual abuse lawsuit just because it’s independently run. If administrators knew about a risk to a student and did nothing, or hired someone without checking their background, that school can be named right alongside the person who hurt you.

If you’re wondering, Can You Sue a Private School or Boarding School for Sexual Abuse in California? the answer may be yes, depending on the circumstances and the school’s role in allowing the abuse to occur.

Attorney Anthony DeMarco has spent over two decades representing California child sex abuse survivors. You don’t have to figure out who’s responsible on your own.

Key Takeaways

• You can sue a private or boarding school in California even though it isn’t a government entity.
• If the abuse happened on or after January 1, 2024, there’s no deadline to file, ever.
• If it happened before January 1, 2024, you generally have until age 40, or five years after connecting an adult injury to the abuse, whichever is later.
• If you were 18 or older, a new filing window opened January 1, 2026, for claims tied to a school’s cover-up.
• A lawsuit can name the school, its board, and any organization that owns or controls it, not just the person who abused you.
• Filing doesn’t require a police report, a criminal conviction, or the school still being open today.

DeMarco Law Firm handles cases like this exclusively and offers a free, confidential consultation to walk through what happened to you.

Yes, You Can Sue a Private or Boarding School for Sexual Abuse in California

You can sue a private school or boarding school in California for sexual abuse, whether it’s run by a religious order, a nonprofit board, or anyone else. Being privately funded doesn’t put a school above the law.

California courts have held schools, dioceses, and youth organizations liable in cases where administrators knew a teacher or dorm supervisor posed a danger and kept that person on staff anyway. Understanding the role of schools in preventing child sexual assault can help explain why schools must take student safety seriously and respond appropriately to warning signs.

The type of school matters far less than what the adults in charge knew, when they knew it, and whether their negligent supervision let the abuse continue. Survivors can also learn more about patterns of sexual abuse in California schools and the circumstances that may support institutional liability.

How Long You Have to File Depends on When the Abuse Happened?

California draws a hard line on January 1, 2024. The rule isn’t about how old you are today. It’s about the date the abuse happened.

If the Abuse Happened On or After January 1, 2024

Under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1, amended by a law known as AB 452, California removed the deadline completely for abuse on or after that date. There’s no age by which you have to file. The statute reaches direct abuse, and it reaches the adults who stood by.

You can sue the person who hurt you, and separately, you can sue the school or organization if a staff member’s negligent hiring, a lapse in duty of care, or an outright cover-up let the abuse start or continue.

If the Abuse Happened Before January 1, 2024

Earlier abuse falls under a related law, Code of Civil Procedure section 340.11. You generally have until your 40th birthday, or five years from the date you connect an adult psychological injury, like depression or PTSD, to the abuse, whichever comes later. Suing the school or organization instead of the person who hurt you follows that same age-40 rule, unless you can show administrators knew about the danger, or should have known, and failed to act on it.

Filing at 40 or older requires a signed certificate of merit from both your attorney and a licensed mental health professional before the case can move forward.

A quick call with DeMarco Law Firm can tell you within one conversation which of these rules applies to your situation, and it won’t cost you anything to ask.

A New Filing Window Opened for Abuse That Happened as an Adult

If the abuse happened after you turned 18, maybe during a senior year on campus or while working at the school, a new temporary filing window opened in 2026.

California’s revival window under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16 lets adult survivors bring claims that would otherwise be too old to file, as long as a private school or organization covered up an earlier report about the same person. That window opened January 1, 2026, and closes December 31, 2027.

Who Can Be Held Responsible Besides the Person Who Abused You?

California law lets you sue anyone whose negligence or cover-up made the abuse possible, including:

• The school itself, as an institution, if it employed or supervised the abuser
• The board of trustees or governing nonprofit, if its policies let clear warning signs slide
• A parent organization, diocese, or foundation that owns or controls the school
• Any mandated reporter under California’s Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) who had reason to suspect abuse and stayed quiet instead of calling it in
• A separate contractor, like a counseling service or off-campus program, that placed the abuser around students without a background check

What a Lawsuit Can Recover For You?

Money doesn’t undo what happened, and no attorney worth hiring will tell you it does. What a civil lawsuit can do is put a number on the therapy you’ll need for years, the career path that got derailed because you couldn’t finish school the way you should have, and the nights you still can’t sleep through.

Settlements and jury verdicts in these types of cases have covered future counseling costs, lost earning potential, and pain and suffering damages. In cases where a school’s cover-up was especially reckless, courts have also allowed punitive damages on top of everything else, money meant to punish the institution rather than just compensate you.

For a closer look at the types of compensation that may be available, read understanding damages in a child sexual abuse lawsuit in California.

California law also has a damages remedy written specifically for these cases. When a school or organization is found to have covered up the abuse, survivors can recover up to three times (treble) their damages from that defendant under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1(b)(1).

DeMarco Law Firm can walk you through which of these outcomes is realistic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does It Matter If the Boarding School Has Since Closed in California?

A: No, in California, it doesn’t. You can still sue the corporation, diocese, or foundation that operated the school, even if the campus shut down years ago. Insurance policies the school carried while it operated often stay in play long after the doors close, so a lawyer can track down who’s legally responsible even when the building is gone.

Q: Can I Sue If the Abuser Is Already Dead or in Prison in California?

A: Yes, in California, you can still file against the school or organization that employed them. Your claim is about the institution’s own negligence in hiring, supervising, or covering up, not about punishing the abuser a second time.

Q: Do I Need a Police Report Before I Can File a Civil Claim in California?

A: No, in California, a police report isn’t required to bring a civil lawsuit. Plenty of survivors never reported to police at all, especially when the abuse happened decades ago. What matters most is the evidence you and your attorney can gather now.

DeMarco Law Firm: Your Private and Boarding School Sexual Abuse Law Firm

You didn’t cause what happened, and you don’t have to sort out who’s legally responsible by yourself. Anthony DeMarco has spent more than two decades representing survivors of sexual abuse across Southern California.

If you’re ready to talk about what happened, even just to understand your options, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation.